Human beings are smart. Granted, we can’t do some amazing things that other creatures accomplish. Like monarch butterflies migrating three thousand miles with some internal GPS. Like an eagle spotting a rabbit from a mile away or a dung beetle pulling an object 1,141 times its own body weight. But human intelligence builds supercomputers and puts people on the moon. So why do we do so many dumb things?
Fact: a man’s piston jammed on the shooting range and he looked down the barrel to see what might be causing the problem. Fact: 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving; more teenagers are killed by texting while driving than drunk driving. Fact: the U.S. Center for Disease Control warns that smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body . . . yet many people continue to puff away their lives. Fact: the chances of winning a national lottery are 1 in 14 million, yet millions of people continue to flush billions per year down the lottery toilet.
So why do smart human beings do such dumb things? A team of psychologists could analyze each of the above stupidities and propose explanations. Despite such, people continue to text while driving, smoke, throw money at lotteries, and look down the barrel of loaded guns. To quote Forest Gump: “Stupid is as stupid does.”
Part of being human – at least an intelligent human being – is to attempt to live a smart life. Doing dumb things generally leads to negative consequences, like disability or death. And one of the consequences that results in extreme negativity on life is the death of relationships.
Relationships are ruined in large part because people act diametrically opposite of the wise dictum, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Striving with all one’s heart and soul to practice that is smart, and leads to enlivening, mutually beneficial relationships. Acting to the contrary is dumb, and leads to misery, told and untold.
Smart is as smart does. Go for it!
